Famous hoaxes

January 17, 2013 |By VANESSA HO/SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Manti Te'o isn't the only one who's ever been in the middle of a big hoax

David Madison/Getty Images

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Rosie Ruiz was declared the winner of the Boston Marathon in 1980, clocking in with the third fastest run in women’s history at the time. But officials later said she hadn't run the whole thing. No one remembered seeing her during the 26-mile race, and witnesses later said they saw her burst from a crowd near the finish line in her sprint to glory.

Ruiz, who was stripped of her victory, continued to maintain years later that she did indeed run the race, and that people may not have seen her because her short hair made her look like a man.

David Madison/Getty Images

2of12

Rosie Ruiz was declared the winner of the Boston Marathon in 1980, clocking in with the third fastest run in women’s history at the time. But officials later said she hadn't run the whole thing. No one remembered seeing her during the 26-mile race, and witnesses later said they saw her burst from a crowd near the finish line in her sprint to glory.

Ruiz, who was stripped of her victory, continued to maintain years later that she did indeed run the race, and that people may not have seen her because her short hair made her look like a man.